Hello there bike fam!
Pretty much anything goes, up for discussion, how would you improve this ride?
Yes, I love Moots, yes I have heard of Mtn. Bikes.
After riding this weekend, and yet again finding myself on extra chunky trails, I’m ready to consider a front sus fork….
Are you going w Fox or Rockshox
(my understanding flight attendant isn’t available on gravel forks yet)
Other prompts;
EE wings? Full Ti crankset? Oval Chainring?
650b wheels?
Sturdy has some real sexy Ti shifting levers
BetterBolts full Titanium bolt upgrade?
Gel padding under handlebar tape?
Are titanium drop bars a thing?
Marked NSFW bc Titanium turns me on, safety first pls
Let’s hear your ideas! Thanks yall
by Complex_Progress_234
28 Comments
N+1
At this point, it would be like looking into putting spinners on a ferrari. You have to know when to stop.
You could always have a set of super light gravel carbon wheels.. you look like you have the budget.
Titanium water bottles
Titanium chain
Titanium Garmin.
I really don’t think the 40-50mm of travel on the “gravel” suspension forks is going to solve what you’re looking for. From the hardtail world.. 100-140 is kinda the range for dealing with what I would classify as “extra chunky”. Depending on how your tire fitting works, if you can put a wider tire on 650’s that may be in the same realm as 40mm of travel at the end of the day. I have a set of 29×2.1″ tires I swap on my drop bar (that kinda looks like what you might be in the realm of), and there’s not really anything I would change to try to make it more capable offroad. If I’m beyond it’s capabilities and I’m not up for hike-a-bike it’s calling for a different bike.
There’s nothing wrong with blinging out your Moots, but I think for what it sounds like you’re talking about spending you could put together a decently speced hardtail. If you’re into more niche brands and are doing the bikepacking thing something like the Ekser Hayduke would really open up your capabilities.
Esker Japhy hardtail
You are missing a custom framebag.
97 rockshox sid and a flat bar.
EE Wings
Extra “o” Mooots
send it back to moots for a singlespeed belt drive conversion
Seems you have every bike gadget in existence. Might want to invest in a GF.
RockShox Rudy XPLR
https://www.laufcycles.com/product/lauf-grit-3rd-gen
“Normal” forks are too easy, and common. May I suggest: [Lefty Oliver Carbon](https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/gear/components/suspension/lefty-oliver/lefty-oliver-carbon)
Now it’s time to upgrade the driver. But you can’t buy this. Takes time.
Swap out that tweedy bar tape, ditch the king hub on the front and get dyno and light for long rides and bike packing. Get lighter xt pedals.
Find a way to attach the garmin vario to the bag or it won’t help much
After looking before and now see the rear end, your fork question, and trail comments…get an xc mtb…you already have a Moots 90s rigid.
Either a Redshift or Canecreek eesilk suspension stem is what you need. They’re a game changer.
I prefer the look of the redshift, but the adjustment mechanism on the canecreek is the better functionality.
I think I would just go with the Redshift stem, instead of a shock.
Focus on yourself instead
A Ti fork would round it off
Dropper post, dude. It makes the bike much more capable.
Don’t need to upgrade it. That’s a pretty well-optimized bike for rough gravel and steep grades. Just need more bikes—one for every riding condition.
I have two wheel sets. 700×40 with more road gearing and 650×2” with wide MTB gearing. With the axs setup it’s super easy to swap out and is a blast in chunkier trails.
That saddle. It looks dead